5 Things You Didn't Know: Matt Serra

5- If not a fighter, he would have been a correctional officer

OK, so you can’t picture this powerhouse doing anything but ruling the octagon. However, it's true… Matt Serra was quoted in an article on MMA.com saying that if he hadn’t gone into fighting, he would have become a correctional officer. Then he joked, “They might not even take me!” We don’t know — if you had been arrested and were contemplating trying to make a run for it, would you want Matt Serra to be the one who stops you? We didn’t think so.

Besides, if Matt Serra hadn’t become a professional fighter, he would have taught fighting for a living anyway, which is what he was doing before becoming the Welterweight Champion.

The UFC is the most popular mixed martial arts organization, and it is recognized as the largest MMA promotion in the world. Between the highly publicized fights and the related reality show The Ultimate Fighter, which profiles hopeful UFC fighters on their climb to the top, the UFC and its top fighters are always in the limelight.

Matt Serra appeared as a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback. He defeated Pete Spratt and Shonie Carter to reach the finals. Then Matt Serra coached amateur fighters in the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

The first UFC event took place at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993, and started as a tournament to find the world's best fighters irrespective of their style. The match was based upon Brazilian vale tudo fighting or “no holds barred.” The April 19, 2008, fight between Matt Serra and Georges St-Pierre was the first UFC event in Canada and, despite its headquarters in Las Vegas, the UFC continues to expand and host tournaments across the globe, demonstrating just how popular MMA has become.